• How To Use These Rhythms
• How To Use The Rhythm Pattern Descriptions
• So, What Is This 9/8 Stuff? (About The 9/8 Rhythm)

• Songs That Use The Karsilama Rhythm
• The Rhythm Instructions
• Now Have Fun With It!

Many belly dancers play only the Basic karsilama variation throughout their dance. This is very boring to listen to, and it is the mark of a dancer who has not yet mastered the art of using finger cymbals. To keep your cymbal playing interesting, vary the rhythm that you use, but always be sure to pick rhythms that work with the music.

So, how should you use these suggested "standard" rhythms that appear on this web page?

• They provide something tangible that you can practice, for building dexterity and "muscle learning" into your hands.
• They can help train your ear to hear various underlying rhythms in the music you are using.
• If you are creating a choreography to be used by a group, then you may also want to choreograph the accompanying finger cymbal rhythms for optimal effect, and the rhythms on this page may help inspire your thinking.

These are not the only rhythms you can play to karsilama music. They are simply a sample to help you start learning what types of patterns might sound good with some Middle Eastern songs. Ultimately, your goal should be to play along with whatever the music is doing, and if these particular rhythms don't fit, don't use them!

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In the following descriptions of cymbal rhythm patterns:

• Listen To It offers you audio clips that you can listen to on your computer. These audio clips are offered to you in two file formats: "wav" file, and "RealAudio". The sounds are identical in them, so choose the one in whichever file format you prefer to receive. If you have never played sound files from the Internet before and don't know which format is "better", click here for a very brief tutorial on Internet sound that will help you decide. There is a way to play the "wav" file over and over again, automatically repeating, so you can practice along with it, and that too is described in my tutorial file on Internet sound.
• Sound Pattern is a description of the rhythm that you can use to quickly communicate which pattern you mean when talking to another dancer--for example, when teaching a class.
• Spoken As refers to what words you would use to describe what this rhythm sounds like if it were being played on a dumbek (Middle Eastern drum). The syllables that appear in CAPITAL LETTERS should be accented.
• Which Hand To Use shows you whether to use the right or the left. It is shown for both right-handed cymbal players and left-handed--use whichever you find more comfortable for you. "L" refers to the left hand, and "R" to the right hand.
• Musical Notation indicates how the rhythm would be written if conveying it to a musician who knows how to read musical notation. With each musical notation are the words you would use to count it, with commas inserted where pauses would be.
• Counting Diagram shows how the musical notation would be counted, but can be used by people who have not been taught musical notation. It shows each pattern twice--the first time, for right-handed dancers, and the second time for left-handed dancers. Use whichever line you feel more comfortable with. "L" and "l" refer to the left hand, and "R" and "r" refer to the right hand. When the letter is capitalized, that means accent that note. When lower-case, it means play that note without an accent.

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The karsilama rhythm is very unfamiliar to the Western ear because Western music simply doesn't use it. The rhythm originated in Turkey, and has 9 beats per measure, with an eighth note getting one count. The word "karsilama" means "face to face", which is a reference to a Turkish folk dance that was traditionally done to music using this rhythm.

A single measure of karsilama is subdivided into 3 sets of 2 counts each (12, 34, 56) and one set of 3 counts (789). The accents fall on counts 1, 3, 5, and 7. If you are not familiar with karsilama at all, start with listening to the audio files of the following rhythms that appear below: Simple, Simple With Silent 89, and Even. In fact, Even may be particularly helpful because it has one cymbal strike on each count.

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Not sure which music uses this rhythm? First, you're most likely to find karsilama songs on collections of Turkish or Greek music. Sometimes it can be found under the name "Tamzara" or "Tomzara" on Armenian music collections. Some music will say either "Karsilama" or "9/8" right on the label next to the title of the song. Do not expect to find karsilama on any collections of Arabic or North Africa music!

Here are the titles of some songs to look for when you are reading cassette or CD labels:

• Dere is an old Turkish folk song. If you are new to working with the karsilama rhythm, this is probably the best song to practice with initially for dancing and playing finger cymbals, because it is a little slower than most other karsilamas. You can find versions of it on Best Of The Sultans (produced by Omar Faruk Tekbilek) and Eye On The World (produced by Brothers Of The Baladi). Both CD's are available from vendors who carry belly dance music from a variety of nationalities.
  • Listen to it.
    • <==Click here to hear a clip in RealAudio format of what this song sounds like on Best Of The Sultans.
    • <==Click here to hear a clip in RealAudio format of what this song sounds like on Brothers of the Baladi's Eye on the World.
    • Click here to hear an MP3 clip of what this song sounds like on Brothers Of The Baladi's Eye on the World.
  • Order it.
    • <==Click here to order Eye On The World by Brothers of the Baladi from Amazon.com in the U.S.
    • <==Click here to order Eye On The World by Brothers of the Baladi from Amazon.co.uk in the U.K.
    • <==Click here to order Best of the Sultans from Amazon.com in the U.S.
  • Learn more about it. Click here for the Turkish lyrics and English-language translation.
• Rampi Rampi, which is also often called Çadermen Ustunev. (In Turkish, the "c" with a cedilla is pronounced as the English "ch" sound.) This is probably the best-known of the songs that use the karsilama rhythm, and will be easiest to find. This is also the one that a live band is most likely to play for you if you request a karsilama.
  • Listen to it. Click here to hear a clip in RealAudio format of what this song sounds like on the Gypsy Fire CD.
  • Order it:
    • <==Click here to order Gypsy Fire from Amazon.com in the U.S.
    • <==Click here to order Gypsy fire from Amazon.ca in Canada.
  • Learn more about it. Click here for the Turkish lyrics and English-language translation.
• Hoplada. This is my favorite karsilama song, but unfortunately it's hard to find cassettes or CD's that include it.
• Tamzara or Tomzara. Most likely to be found on collections of Armenian music. My favorite version of this song appears on "Armenia, Armenia."
• Marinella. This one is Greek.

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This and Simple, Silent 8-9 are the two simplest finger cymbal rhythms for karsilama.

Listen To It

<==Click here to listen to a RealAudio version of Simple.

<==Click here to listen to a "wav" version of Simple.

<==Click here if you need a tutorial on which of the above options to choose.

Sound Pattern

1 1 1 3

Spoken As

DUN TEC DUN TEC tec tec

Which Hand To Use

For right-handed dancers: R L R LLL

For left-handed dancers: L R L RRR

In Musical Notation

This musical notation would be counted as: 1, 3, 5, 789

Counting Diagram

The first line is for right-handed dancers, and the second line is for left-handed dancers. Accent the capitalized beats.

1---2---3---4---5---6---7---8---9---|

R       R       R       R   R   R   |

L       L       L       L   L   L   |

1---2---3---4---5---6---7---8---9---|

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This and Simple are the two simplest finger cymbal rhythms for karsilama.

Listen To It

<==Click here to listen to a RealAudio version of Simple, Silent 8-9.

<==Click here to listen to a "wav" version of Simple, Silent 8-9.

<==Click here if you need a tutorial on which of the above options to choose.

Sound Pattern

1 1 1 1

Spoken As

DUN DUN DUN TEC

Which Hand To Use

For right-handed dancers: R L R L

For left-handed dancers: L R L R

In Musical Notation

This musical notation would be counted as: 1, 3, 5, 7

Counting Diagram

The first line is for right-handed dancers, and the second line is for left-handed dancers. Accent the capitalized beats.

1---2---3---4---5---6---7---8---9---|

R       L       R       L           |

L       R       L       R           |

1---2---3---4---5---6---7---8---9---|

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Musically speaking, this is a very simple pattern because you play one cymbal stroke on each beat. The challenge is to get the accents in the right places (counts 1, 3, 5, and 7).

Listen To It

<==Click here to listen to a RealAudio version of Even.

<==Click here to listen to a "wav" version of Even.

<==Click here if you need a tutorial on which of the above options to choose.

Sound Pattern

2 2 2 3

Spoken As

TEC tec TEC tec TEC tec TEC tec tec

Which Hand To Use

For right-handed dancers: RL RL RL RRR

For left-handed dancers: LR LR LR LLL

In Musical Notation

This musical notation would be counted as: 1 2 3 4 5 6 789

Counting Diagram

The first line is for right-handed dancers, and the second line is for left-handed dancers. Accent the capitalized beats.

1---2---3---4---5---6---7---8---9---|

R   l   R   l   R   l   R   R   R   |

L   r   L   R   l   R   L   L   L   |

1---2---3---4---5---6---7---8---9---|

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This rhythm sounds best if you alternate hands within each group of 3 notes: RLR, RLR, RLR, etc. (Of course, if you're left-handed, it's better to play LRL, LRL, LRL because your stronger hand should be the one that plays with the accented dun sound.)

Listen To It

<==Click here to listen to a RealAudio version of Basic.

<==Click here to listen to a "wav" version of Basic.

<==Click here if you need a tutorial on which of the above options to choose.

Sound Pattern

1 3 3 3 1 1

Spoken As

DUN teca TEC teca DUN teca TEC tec tec

Which Hand To Use

For right-handed dancers: R RLR RLR RLR RRR

For left-handed dancers: L LRL LRL LRL LLL

In Musical Notation

This musical notation would be counted as: 1, 2 and 3, 4 and 5, 6 and 789

Counting Diagram

The first line is for right-handed dancers, and the second line is for left-handed dancers. Accent the capitalized beats.

1---2---3---4---5---6---7---8---9---|

R   r l R   r l R   r l R   R   R   |

L   l r L   l r L   l r L   L   L   |

1---2---3---4---5---6---7---8---9---|

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This variation of Basic is silent on counts 8 and 9.

Listen To It

<==Click here to listen to a RealAudio version of Basic, Silent 8-9.

<==Click here to listen to a "wav" version of Basic, Silent 8-9.

<==Click here if you need a tutorial on which of the above options to choose.

Sound Pattern

1 3 3 3

Spoken As

DUN teca TEC teca DUN teca TEC

Which Hand To Use

For right-handed dancers: R RLR RLR RLR

For left-handed dancers: L LRL LRL LRL

In Musical Notation

This musical notation would be counted as: 1, 2 and 3, 4 and 5, 6 and 7

Counting Diagram

The first line is for right-handed dancers, and the second line is for left-handed dancers. Accent the capitalized beats.

1---2---3---4---5---6---7---8---9---|

R   r l R   r l R   r l R           |

L   l r L   l r L   l r L           |

1---2---3---4---5---6---7---8---9---|

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"Filled" refers to rapidly playing on both the beat and the "and" of the beat for a group of counts.

Listen To It

<==Click here to listen to a RealAudio version of Basic, Filled In Middle.

<==Click here to listen to a "wav" version of Basic, Filled In Middle.

<==Click here if you need a tutorial on which of the above options to choose.

Sound Pattern

1 10 3

Spoken As

DUN teca teca teca teca teca TEC tec tec

Which Hand To Use

For right-handed dancers: R RLRLRLRLRL RRR

For left-handed dancers: L LRLRLRLRLR LLL

In Musical Notation

This musical notation would be counted as: 1, 2 and 3 and 4 and 5 and 6 and 789

Counting Diagram

The first line is for right-handed dancers, and the second line is for left-handed dancers. Accent the capitalized beats.

1---2---3---4---5---6---7---8---9---|

R   r l R l r l R l r l R   R   R   |

L   l r L r l r L r l r L   L   L   |

1---2---3---4---5---6---7---8---9---|

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Listen To It

<==Click here to listen to a RealAudio version of Basic, Filled On Counts 1-6.

<==Click here to listen to a "wav" version of Basic, Filled On Counts 1-6.

<==Click here if you need a tutorial on which of the above options to choose.

Sound Pattern

12-3

Spoken As

TECa teca TECa teca TECa teca TEC tec tec

Which Hand To Use

For right-handed dancers: RLRLRLRLRLRL RRR

For left-handed dancers: LRLRLRLRLRLR LLL

In Musical Notation

This musical notation would be counted as: 1 and 2 and 3 and 4 and 5 and 6 and 789.

Counting Diagram

The first line is for right-handed dancers, and the second line is for left-handed dancers. Accent the capitalized beats.

1---2---3---4---5---6---7---8---9---|

R l r l R l r l R l r l R   R   R   |

L r l r L r l r L r l r L   L   L   |

1---2---3---4---5---6---7---8---9---|

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This is by far the most difficult of the rhythms suggested on this page! If you don't have any formal musical training, you'll find this one very difficult to master unless you have an excellent finger cymbal teacher who can help you hear how it sounds with the music. I think it sounds best when clacking the finger cymbals strongly together on both hands at once on each strike, so that they don't ring.

Note that on this rhythm, the cymbals actually strike on counts 2, 4, 6, 8, and 9. That's what makes this rhythm tricky, and even people with good musical backgrounds may have trouble properly synchronizing it with the music. But if you can master this one, you'll truly impress any audience members and band members with musical training.

Listen To It

<==Click here to listen to a RealAudio version of Syncopated.

<==Click here to listen to a "wav" version of Syncopated.

<==Click here if you need a tutorial on which of the above options to choose.

Sound Pattern

1 1 1 2

Spoken As

(silence) clank (silence) clank (silence) clank (silence) clank clank

Which Hand To Use

For this description, "B" stands for clanking the finger cymbals on both hands in unison for a loud accented sound.

B B B BB

In Musical Notation

This musical notation would be counted as: 2, 4, 6, 89

Counting Diagram

Accent the capitalized beats. "B" means clank with the finger cymbals on both hands in unison. Don't let the finger cymbals ring on this one.

1---2---3---4---5---6---7---8---9---|

    B      B       B       B   B    |

1---2---3---4---5---6---7---8---9---|

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Now it's time to experiment. Here are some exercises:

Try making up your own combinations that work well with karsilama music. One way to do that is to modify some of the ones on this page by inserting fills and silence into various parts of them. Here are a couple of ideas to get you started:

• Try doing Even with silent 8 and 9.
• Insert a rest (silence) in the place of a "3" or a "1". For example, try Basic as follows: 1-3-silence-3-1-1.
• Try doing a fill on counts 7 and 8. For example, try Simple as follows: 1-1-1-5
• Insert fills in place of some groups of 3 in the Basic pattern. For example try modifying Basic this way: 1-3-7-1-1.

Put some Turkish music on your stereo system, and listen for the karsilama rhythm. If you don't hear it, maybe you chose a song that either doesn't use it (there are Turkish 4/4 and 2/4 songs, too), or obscures it with creative musicianship. Try another. Once you find a song that does offer a good, easy-to-hear, strong karsilama beat, practice all the various rhythms on this page in time to it. Then move to doing your own improvisations to it.

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